Accenture Careers Blog

What’s it like to make the leap from full time education to paid work at a global organization? At the start of the summer, Maggie McGregor joined the HR team in our New York office for a six week internship. Here she talks about the transition involved moving from college life to working intern.

Transitioning from College Life to Work Life

Taxis are honking. Subways are screeching. Feet are hustling. Coffee beans are brewing. These sounds are the notes that comprise the melody of the real world. 8:54am. Six minutes to orientation. Once the clock strikes 9, a strong current will whisk me down the rushing river towards corporate America. Will I find calm amongst the storm? To a college student like me, dipping my toes into the real world is a defining moment. Grade School. High School. College. What’s next? This is the first time where my life is an open book and I guide the strokes of the pen.

Throughout my summer at Accenture, I learned the beauty in being “comfortable with the uncomfortable”. Although my career is just beginning, I realized how that unknown horizon can lead to exciting possibilities. On my first day on my project, I quickly learned that I was extremely passionate about recruiting and talent acquisition. How incredible is it that I was able to wake up every day this summer and spend it working on something that ignited a spark within me? Throughout my internship experience, I noticed that Accenture employees are the drivers of their own careers. Every day, they are challenged to innovate, to improve, to enrich. Accenture employees do not execute tasks how they have in the past, but rather look to the future. Even if you are not a consultant, you are challenged to think like one. If employees do not feel engaged in their current role, Accenture encourages them to stop. Reflect. Pick up their pen again and begin writing a new story at Accenture.

It is certainly a huge transition from college life to work life. I will make hundreds of mistakes along the way. I learned that I can’t go to the supermarket at 6pm during rush hour. I learned that I can’t make peanut butter and jelly for every meal in order to save money. Although I have one year left in my college career, my summer at Accenture has comforted me amongst this impending unknown of the real world. Accenture has handed me the pen, now I just need to start writing.

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I worked with Accenture 10 years back and still feel it was best company i worked In. Over the years i learnt many skills and learnt the art of wining, the foundation of which was laid at Accenture. Winner in its own way.

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